


hey babe?

by ericaismeg, foxerica (ericaismeg)



Series: rare ships [33]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Laura Hale, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Awesome Laura Hale, Awkward Crush, Awkward Dates, Awkwardness, Embarrassed Derek, Established Scott McCall/Stiles Stilinski, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Love Confessions, Multi, Pining Derek, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 21:06:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5943097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericaismeg/pseuds/ericaismeg, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericaismeg/pseuds/foxerica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scott pokes his head back out of the exam room. “Hey babe?”</p><p>Stiles and Derek both turn to look at him, and in unison say, “Yeah?”</p><p>As soon as the word leaves Derek’s lips, he cringes and goes still. Scott wasn’t talking to <i>him.</i> He wasn’t calling <i>him</i> babe. He was clearly talking to Stiles. Derek’s ears are definitely burning red now, and he wishes a hole would open up in front of him that he could jump into.</p>
            </blockquote>





	hey babe?

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted [here on tumblr.](http://foxerica.tumblr.com/post/138582473462/hey-babe-sorry-for-being-late)

♚◉♞◉♚◉♞

**_hey babe?_ **

 

“Sorry for being late,” Stiles greets when he sees Derek sitting in the waiting room of Scott’s vet clinic. Derek immediately gets up to his feet, giving Stiles a warm smile.

“No worries. Scott’s still with a patient,” Derek tells him. He leans in for a quick hug with Stiles before they both sit down in their usual seats. Derek remembers the first time Stiles had hugged him, four years ago when they were still in high school. It had made Derek’s ears grow pink. Now, they’re so comfortable with each other that Derek reaches for Stiles out of habit.

Stiles moves his shoe to press against Derek’s. It’s small, but Derek learned quickly that touching keeps Stiles calm. He rests his elbow on the arm of the chair, his arm against Stiles.

“Have you been waiting long?” Stiles asks him.

“No, only a few minutes. How was your day?”

This had taken them a while. Back in high school, they hadn’t really liked each other much. But then Scott had joined the lacrosse team and desperately needed them to get along. Derek was the captain of the team at the time, and Scott hoped if they could all become friends, he’d get more time on the field. He was wrong; Derek didn’t care if they were friends or not. If Scott wanted more time on the field, he’d train with him outside of practice.

That had only upset Stiles, who had claimed that Derek was ‘stealing’ his best friend. Derek had yelled at Stiles a lot, and Scott had ordered them to hang out just the two of them twice a week. Eventually, they worked it out.

When Scott and Stiles started dating during their last year of college, Derek really thought he’d lose both of his friends. They made it work somehow; Scott and Stiles didn’t make Derek feel like an awkward third wheel. In fact, sometimes it felt like they were all dating each other. Not that Derek minds that much - he’s been in love with both of them since they surprised him for his seventeenth birthday with a chocolate volcano cake experiment that exploded on everyone within four meters at his party.

They certainly make life interesting.

“It was alright. I don’t know. Long, really,” Stiles answers.

Derek sighs, because he knows what that means. He bumps his shoulder against Stiles’. “You’re going to quit?”

Stiles presses his lips together, as if he’s debating on lying to Derek. He knows that he can’t get away with it, so he says, “Probably, yeah. I–I don’t know. I really tried! But being a photographer’s assistant is _really_  boring. Kira’s great to work with, but I don’t think photography is something I want to get into.”

“That’ll make seven jobs in eight months,” Derek comments gently. He wants to reach out and intertwine their fingers to comfort Stiles better. “I can hook you up with my sister if you want.”

“Cora’s job as a fire fighter is _way_  too intense for me,” Stiles says, shaking his head.

“No, no, I’m talking about Laura,” Derek corrects him.

Stiles fidgets with his fingers, twisting and rubbing his hands together. He doesn’t look at Derek for a moment. He knows that Stiles doesn’t want to say no, but feels like he should. God only knows why.

“Hey!” Scott says, poking his head out of his exam room. They both look up to smile at him. “I might be about a half-hour. Why don’t you guys go get a table at the restaurant and order me my usual?”

"We can start with an app,” Derek suggests to Stiles.

“Thank god, because I’m _starving._  We’ll see you soon, Scotty?” Stiles says, smiling.

“Yeah. Sorry about this!” Scott disappears into the exam room again.

Derek grabs his jacket and hands Stiles his umbrella. “I’m not getting extra cheese on the potato skins again.”

“Spoil sport,” Stiles retorts. Derek laughs, because seriously. A potato skin does _not_  need that much cheese on it. In fact, Derek could probably happily skip the cheese all together but he knows it’s Stiles’ favourite.

Scott pokes his head back out of the exam room. “Hey babe?”

Stiles and Derek both turn to look at him, and in unison say, “Yeah?”

As soon as the word leaves Derek’s lips, he cringes and goes still. Scott wasn’t talking to  _him._  He wasn’t calling _him_  babe. He was clearly talking to Stiles. Derek’s ears are definitely burning red now, and he wishes a hole would open up in front of him that he could jump into. His sisters would never let him live this down.

There’s a moment of pure terror that flashes in his head before Scott says, “Uh–never mind.”

“You sure, Scotty?” Stiles asks.

Scott nods, “Yeah. See you guys there.”

"C’mon, dork.” Stiles slips his arm in Derek’s and turns them around towards the door. Derek still doesn’t know what just happened, but neither Scott or Stiles seem to be making a big deal about it so he lets Stiles lead him to his shitty Jeep. Stiles hovers outside the passenger door, even after Derek’s gotten into his seat.

Derek gives him a pointed look.

“You think your sister would give me a shot?” Stiles asks, looking down.

“I can’t promise anything, but I really think she might,” Derek tells him. “I just have to talk to her. Do you want me to?”

“I…yeah?” Stiles says, nodding. “It’s just I know that she usually struggles to hire  _qualified_  people. And I have no…qualifications.”

Derek doesn’t get to say anything else. Stiles shuts his door, as if they’re some sort of cute couple, and walks around the front of the Jeep to the driver’s side. When he gets in, he gives Derek a bright smile. “What?”

“So, you want to be Scott’s babe, huh?” Stiles asks.

“Shut up,” Derek grumbles.

Stiles’ laughter almost makes the moment worth it. _Almost._

When Scott finally joins them at the table later in the evening, he gives Stiles a quick kiss before sitting down. Derek knows the moment’s coming though, so he pulls his phone out and texts his sister to confirm their coffee date. He learned that no matter how much he loves them, seeing their displays of affection makes him long in ways he didn’t know was possible and can’t be healthy.

They brought it up to him once; promising they wouldn’t act too much like a couple in front of him. They didn’t want to make him uncomfortable or feel like a third-wheel. How could he possibly tell them that he was upset because he wanted to be _part of it?_  He couldn’t. So, he avoids watching little moments like that. It’s simply easier.

“I missed the small talk. How was everyone’s day?” Scott asks.

Derek looks across the table at Stiles, who shakes his head. Derek doesn’t look away though, holding his gaze until Stiles huffs. “Fine. Okay. I think I’m going to quit.”

“Again?” Scott asks, but it’s not with judgement. The concern that fills his voice is similar to Derek’s earlier. “What are you going to try next?”

“Derek’s going to see if Laura will hire me,” Stiles says. His voice gets softer when he adds, “I’m really sorry, guys. I wish I knew what I wanted to be. I wish I didn’t end up hating everything I do. I just…”

“We only want you to be happy,” Derek says, jumping in. Stiles gives him a quick, half smile.

“Exactly. I think that working with Laura might be a good job for you. You love researching shit and you love Laura,” Scott says to Stiles, sounding very hopeful.

“I hope so. She could say no though. I’m not qualified at all. I just…”

Derek and Scott share a look. They know exactly what’s going through Stiles’ mind. Since his father passed away, Stiles had dropped out of college and tried sixteen different jobs in different industries looking for his _one true calling,_ as he liked to refer to it as. No matter how many times either of them told Stiles that not everyone _has_  a passion for something career-related, Stiles continues to search.

Stiles is looking for something to give his life meaning.

“We know,” Scott says, quietly.

Derek wishes he could hold Stiles’ other hand. Squeeze it gently like Scott is now. But he can’t. So he leans back in his chair and watches Stiles stare at their hands.

“Thanks for being so supportive through all…this. And for being here for me.”

“There’s no place we’d rather be,” Derek says before he can think about it. Scott nods in agreement.

Sometimes, in moments like these, it feels like the three of them against the world. Derek almost wishes it didn’t. It might make it easier to not be so stupid in love with them.

♚◉♞◉♚◉♞

 

“You want me to hire _Stiles,_  who has _no_  school  _or_  job experience to come be one of  _my_  research assistants at my wildlife preservation?” Laura asks Derek a few days later when they meet up for their weekly coffee date. Derek only nods, because that’s exactly what he’s hoping she’ll do. Laura narrows her eyes on him. “Why? State your case, Hale.”

He meets her eyes, hoping she doesn’t see right through him. He knows it’s a lost cause when she gets that stupid knowing smile on her face. “You need someone who loves research and _cares_  about why they’re doing the job. Isn’t the reason you haven’t hired anyone because they’re all too apathetic for your tastes? You know Stiles will never be like that. He won’t put up with all your bullshit moods and he’ll call you out on all your crap. It’ll be good for you, Laur.”

She nods, inhaling deeply. Her fingertips tap against each other in front of her face. “He does love research. His focus is a little sketchy, so we’d have to work on that. But you’re right. I think he’d care very much about the work we’re doing.”

“He’s got one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know,” Derek says, in case she doubts it. When Laura smiles this time, it’s warm and soft.

“I know, Derek.” She reaches out and puts her hand over his. “You love him a lot, don’t you?”

He can’t exactly deny it. He could never lie worth shit to Laura. “Yeah, of course I do. You know that.”

Her expression turns sympathetic. “Okay. Tell Stilinski to come into my office at 6AM sharp on Tuesday. It’ll be a long, hard day. A test to see if he’s cut out for it.”

“Thank you.”

She nods and squeezes his hand. “Anything for my little brother. So. Still in love with McCall too?”

Derek snorts. “I’m so screwed.”

He remembers telling Laura about his crush on Scott. God, it’d been years ago now. Their private training sessions outside of their lacrosse practices had proven to be difficult. Scott is simply too good of a person to _not_  fall in love with.

Derek also vividly remembers getting drunk and crying on Laura’s couch the day Scott and Stiles told him they were dating.

"I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone falling for _both_  people in a loving, committed relationship before. I’m sure it’s happened, but…” Laura looks worried. “I’ll be here for you.”

 _When they break your heart_  goes left unsaid.

“Thanks. How’s your thing with Lydia going?”

Laura scoffs. “Please. Lydia is way too in love with Cora to even notice me these days. But I ran into your old high school flame, Braeden, and we’re going on a date next Friday. Is that okay?”

“Braeden?” Derek asks, eyebrows up. “Wow. Yeah, of course. Tell her I say hi.”

Laura beams, and he realizes this might be the first time he’s ever seen her excited about a date before. “Thanks, Derek! I was worried that you might have said no. You guys were pretty intense for a while.”

 _Because she knew I was in love with my friends,_  Derek thinks. Braeden knew, but didn’t care. She wanted to have some fun. She thought maybe she could help him get his mind off it, and perhaps make the boys jealous in the meantime. The former worked, the latter did not.

“We ended up better as friends. Trust me,” Derek tells her.

“Good, because we already made out,” Laura says, laughing.

“Jesus, Laura.”

 

♚◉♞◉♚◉♞

_“Derek!”_  Scott shouts when he answers the phone.  _“Derek Hale, you get your pretty butt over to our place right now!”_

“Excuse me?” Derek asks, because of course his mind is stuck at _your pretty butt._  His butt is not…pretty? But if _Scott_  thinks that then…that’s not so bad.

 _“You’re not going to believe this unless you see it. So hurry up! We’re waiting for you and the pizza is gonna get cold!”_  Scott’s still yelling, whether he realizes it or not. Derek laughs, more out of confusion and adoration for Scott than anything.

“Alright. I’m on my way.”

 _“Good! See you soon, babe!”_ Scott says before hanging up.

Derek stares at his phone for a minute before moving. Babe? Did Scott really call him that? He knows that he didn’t do it to be mean or to tease him. It’s not Scott’s way. But why would he call him that? Derek decides it was a slip of tongue. He was probably looking at Stiles anyway.

When he gets to Scott and Stiles’ apartment, he doesn’t need to wait for them to let him in. He’s had a copy of their keys since the week before they moved in together. Derek had always been happy that they trusted him so much; that they had ensured he felt safe and okay with coming over whenever he wanted.

Sometimes he texts before he shows up. He did interrupt them having sex once. Now  _that_  had been awkward. Stiles hadn’t even known what to do except ask if Derek wanted to join. Fuck, every inch of him wanted to say  _yes._  Instead, he laughed it off as the joke it was. They put a sock on the doorknob now, as if they’re in college still. It’s a great system though - except when they forget to take the sock off.

“You’re here!” Scott shouts when Derek lets himself into the apartment. He smiles at Scott’s bright face. “Come here, come here. _Look.”_

Derek walks over to Scott, following his eyes to where he’s looking, and pauses. Stiles is happily talking to someone on his cell phone as he clicks away on the computer. He’s printing a document out a moment later and then says, “You know what, I can help with that. Yeah, my friend does photography. She taught me a few things, but if you want really good photos, we should drag her out with us one day. I’m sure she’d love it. She gets a huge kick out of adventures like that. We could update the brochures in the office with new photos too!”

“Who is he talking to?” Derek asks, looking at Scott now.

“Laura. He got home from his first day and he wouldn’t shut up about how incredible it was. It sounded kind of boring to me, but he’s  _so_  excited, Derek. He was telling me a story when he had an epiphany. He called Laura  _three_  hours ago.”

Derek’s surprised, yes. He’d thought Stiles would be great for the job, would enjoy it, but he didn’t realize just how perfect it could be for him. He smiles. “That’s amazing.”

“That’s all thanks to _you._  You knew this job would be good for him. You suggested it right after he quit the bakery,” Scott tells him, proud. He puts his hand on Derek’s arm and leans into him. “This is because of you. I haven’t seen him come home this excited about anything in  _years._  I…you always know how to take care of him better than me.”

“That’s not true and you know it,” Derek says. He leans into Scott a little more. Maybe it’s habit, maybe it’s hope, or maybe it’s because it’s just so damn _nice._  But Derek places his hand on top of Scott’s and doesn’t move it right away. “I’d do anything for you two, you know that, right?”

Scott looks at him. There’s something in his eyes that Derek can’t quite read. He only says, “I know.”

Derek looks back at Stiles, who is talking way too fast for him to keep up. His hands are flying around the air and he starts laughing. Clearly, Laura’s talking now as Stiles falls silent. He spins around in his chair at his desk and when he sees Derek, he stops.

“Oi! I gotta go, Laura. But I’ll be there tomorrow at 5:30am. Yeah, yeah, that sounds great! Okay. See you then. Bye!” Stiles hangs up, tosses his phone on the desk, and launches himself from the chair. “Derek! Thank you _so_  much! You have no idea how awesome today was, dude.”

Stiles throws his arms around Derek’s neck, which causes Scott to pull his hand away. Derek wraps his arms around Stiles’ waist. “I’m so happy to hear that, Stiles.”

“Now, I know it’s only the first day but…I’ve never been this excited before. You should have told me that your sister is the lead for wolves and foxes. That is _so_  cool. But she does other animals too. She’s pretty incredible at her job. She has all of these people underneath her, helping her, and she told me that I’d be working mostly one-on-one with her and the animals. She did say that I’d have to earn such a title, by doing some boring admin work, but it doesn’t seem that boring!”

“I–wow,” Derek says, a laugh escaping his lips. He can’t help but get caught up in Stiles’ excitement. Scott’s right. Stiles had _never_  been like this coming home from one of his many jobs. Derek glances at Scott who is beaming. “Stiles, that’s so great.”

“It wouldn’t have happened without you,” Stiles says. “Laura told me that you fought for me. Thank you, dude. You’re…you’re really something else.”

“I think she might have exaggerated a bit, but,” Derek answers, with a shrug.

“We should celebrate,” Scott announces. “Want to go to _Abbey’s?”_  

 _Abbey’s Drunk Again_  is a bar that they usually go to down the street. Sometimes they’d get hammered and Derek would end up back here with them. Only, he crashes on the couch and tries to fall asleep before he can hear his friends have sex. Usually, he manages. Sometimes, he’s unlucky.

“Um,” Derek starts.

“Let’s just drink here,” Stiles suggests instead. “I just want to spend the evening with my two favourite people.”

Derek’s lips curl upwards at that comment and he follows them into the kitchen while Stiles pours them drinks. He settles in at the kitchen table and listens to them bicker about how much alcohol to start off with.

Whenever he has a long day, he usually ends up here. It’s probably because he’s in love with them, but he finds their bantering very comforting. It’s like coming home.

 

♚◉♞◉♚◉♞

 

“Hey babe?” Stiles shouts from his bedroom a few hours later.

“Yeah?” Derek answers automatically. His eyes grow wide. _Not again._  He slaps a hand over his mouth. The alcohol betrayed him.

Scott blinks at him long and slow before he bursts into giggles. He waves a hand at Derek. “Oh my god! Oh my god, you did it again! You…Derek! Don’t you see?”

“Uhh,” is all Derek’s drunk mind can manage to say aloud.

Stiles steps out of his bedroom, smirk on his face. “You know Derek, Scotty and I have been talking.”

“This can’t be good,” Derek mumbles.

“And we think it’s really cute how you answer to babe,” Stiles tells him. His eyes are filled with amusement. Derek groans dramatically, dropping his face into his hands. “We were kind of hoping we could also call you babe.”

“And boyfriend,” Scott adds, sounding like an excited kid at Christmas.

Derek peeks between his fingers. He can’t say anything. His mouth isn’t working anymore. Damn this alcohol.

“If you wanted, that is. If you don’t, that’s totally fine! It’s just…we can’t really remember what it’s like just to be the two of us,” Stiles says, joining them in the living room now. He glances at Scott, who nods in agreement. “We’re _always_  doing things with you. Always doing the couple things with you. And we just…we just want to be _with_  you.”

“Wait– _with me_  with me?” Derek asks. His voice is only a whisper.

“Yeah. We want to call you boyfriend,” Scott says. “And we want you to call _us_  boyfriend. Boyfriends.”

“I–what?”

“We want to date you. We want to all date,” Stiles explains.

“I got that. But _why?”_

“Why did it take us so long?” Scott asks. “I don’t really know. Stiles and I can be kind of idiots sometimes.”

“That’s not–” but Derek stops talking. That’s not what he meant. But…he doesn’t want to argue. Hope has suddenly filled his chest, and he wants to cling to it. Derek’s lips part. He’d blame it on the alcohol, but he whispers, “I’m so in love with both of you, my heart aches.”

Stiles and Scott share a look. Stiles reacts first. “You’re in love with us? _You_  had feelings for _us?_  Why didn’t we do something about this sooner?”

“Like you, I am also an idiot,” Derek admits.

Scott and Stiles start laughing and Derek joins them. Suddenly, there’s no tension in the air. He finds himself reaching out for the both of them. Their hands intertwine and Derek can only smile.

“We’re too drunk to do anything now. Let’s just go to bed?” Scott suggests. “We can get hangover breakfast in the morning.”

“I’m so fired,” Stiles whispers. “I said I’d meet Laura at _five-thirty.”_

“You’re not nearly as drunk as Derek,” Scott points out. “Besides, I cut you off at 8pm, remember?”

“You did?”

Derek leans into Scott and stage whispers, “I don’t think he knows he was drinking soda water.”

Stiles scoffs. “You two are jerks. Thoughtful and caring, but jerks nonetheless. No wonder why I don’t feel more than tipsy. I thought I was getting _old.”_

Derek gasps, as if he’s scandalized. Stiles laughs, playfully shoving him. Scott yanks them both off the couch and they make their way into his room.

That night, Derek curls up in the middle and finds that they’re both very cuddly. He’s pretty sure he smiles the entire night, waking occasionally to reach out and find they’re both still right there. He can hardly believe it.

He’s dating Scott and Stiles. Laura would be so proud.

 

♚◉♞◉♚◉♞

 

Laura’s a little pissed that her new favourite employee is sleepy on his second day, but Derek calls her later to smooth things out.

 _“So wait,”_  she says, pausing to tell someone to leave her office.  _“You’re telling me that you’re dating both of them?”_

“Yeah,” Derek says.

 _“I’m so proud of you, little brother. I’ll let Stiles’ sleepyhead pass this one time. But this is the only exception. He can’t be kept up late like that again,”_  Laura tells him.  _“I can’t show favouritism towards my brother’s boyfriend again.”_

“Love you, Laur.”

_“Love you too. And Derek?”_

“Yeah?”

 _“I’m happy you got your men,”_ she tells him.

“Thanks. Me too.”

 

♚◉♞◉♚◉♞

 

“Hey babe?” Derek calls out from the kitchen.

“Yeah?” he hears Scott say from the bathroom and Stiles from the bedroom.

Derek smiles to himself. “Never mind.”

 

♚◉♞◉♚◉♞

**Author's Note:**

> come cry with me about mchaleinski on [tumblr.](http://www.foxerica.tumblr.com)


End file.
